Aurora of the High Heavens, Version 3
by RayvnAshes2
Summary: As with the original stories, Zeref sends Lucy back to Magnolia before Acnologia arrives and she has the chance to grow up. Unlike my other two stories, this time Wendy is sent back with her, a change that opens up a whole new path for everyone. HUGE XOVER! Includes a fair few LGBT pairings, flames will be ignored. LaLu, GaLe, Jerza, EverElf, Stingue, etc.
1. Sent Back

**Disclaimer: I do not own ANYTHING in this story at this point in time. Later on I will include some original characters, and I will try and remember to list them as I do, but that will come later.**

 **Hello everyone!**

 **So, this is my third go at my Aurora of the High Heavens story. I re-wrote the original, unfinished version because I felt like I skipped over way too much, and I'm still in the process of writing that. I recently decided to re-write it** _ **again**_ **, with Wendy also being sent back to Magnolia before Acnologia attacks, which is what this version is. I intend to continue that first re-write, but here's the first chapter of this version!**

 **NOTE: this will include even more crossover characters, so if that's not your thing, I would recommend looking elsewhere for entertainment. The pairings are also NOT guaranteed to stay the same; in fact, I've already changed those up a bit. You'll just have to wait and see about those (except for LaLu, that WILL stay the same.) There will also be crossover characters joining guilds other than Fairy Tail, so that the gap in strength between them and Fairy Tail at least lessens a tiny bit.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Zeref stared at the group of Fairy Tail mages.

So this was the legacy—or at least a big part of the legacy—left behind by Mavis Vermillion. The girl that was so much like him, that he had placed all of his hopes on.

The girl that he had effectively killed.

The Black Wizard shook his head subtly, not wanting to relive that memory again.

These people were mere children to him, even the little old man at the head of the group. After all, no mere mortal's lifespan could measure up against his own.

He couldn't wait until Natsu was strong enough to finally kill him. He often dreamed about what oblivion would feel like.

But Natsu wasn't strong enough to kill him. Not yet, anyway.

Sensing Acnologia's presence encroaching on the island, Zeref realized that perhaps that damned dragon could act as a test for the Fire Dragon Slayer. Something to test his mettle against.

But then the black haired man's eyes landed on two forms in particular among the group.

The first was a young girl just shy of her teenage years, with long dark blue hair and large brown eyes staring at him with both fear and determination.

Judging by her slightly barred teeth, showing sharpened canines, she was the female dragon slayer. Grandineey's little student.

He had no problem letting Natsu and Metalicana's brat fight Acnologia, knowing that Natsu WOULD live through it and not particularly caring about the latter, but…

Willow, or Wendy, whatever her name was—she hadn't lived long enough, _trained_ long enough, to have even the slightest hope of surviving Acnologia unless a miracle happened.

He was surprised to find that he still had a conscience. Interesting.

'I'll get her off the island," he decided, already turning his gaze to the other one. 'She might become useful later on.'

The second person who had caught his attention was a young woman with blonde hair, with a face so familiar that he could have sworn that she was Anna Heartfilia's reincarnation.

'A descendant.' Zeref realized, eyes zeroing in on the ring attached to her belt, over a dozen gold and silver keys jingling as she shifted under his gaze. 'Perhaps the daughter of the one who opened the Gate.'

He did silently admit to himself that he was slightly impressed by the number of keys in her possession, though. Anna had only had three of the Zodiac spirits contracted to her, and she had had the most out of the Celestial Spirit mages back then.

Maybe it was sentiment, but Zeref didn't want to end Anna's line here.

Celestial Spirit mages had a bewildering knack for messing up plans, anyway. For a magic so rare, there were a lot of rituals that required them.

So he'd get her off the island, too.

He didn't care enough about any of the others (Natsu being the obvious exception) to bother with them.

* * *

Makarov's eyes widened in horror as a large black magic circle appeared in front of the most notorious mage in the history of Fiore, quickly disappearing only to leave a terrifying swirling whirlpool behind.

His horror only heightened as two of his grandchildren were suddenly yanked forward by an invisible force, being pulled into the whirlpool.

His other grandchildren's horrified screams echoed in his ears as more than a few of them lunged towards the girls, trying their damnedest to grab ahold of them and get them out of the whirlpool's gravitational pool.

But it was of no use. Within moments, both girls were sucked into the whirlpool and disappeared, followed a moment later by the whirlpool itself.

Everything was silent for a long moment.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO THEM?!" Natsu roared, flames literally shooting from his mouth as he tried to leap towards the Black Wizard.

Makarov was prepared to enlarge his hand to block the hotheaded pinkette's way, but luckily Erza and Gray were smart enough to grab him from behind and hold him down.

"Natsu…" Erza whispered as she held him down at the chest, Gray making sure he couldn't kick his way out from under her.

"They're not dead." Zeref said in a monotone voice, eyes displaying the slightest bit of surprise at Natsu's reaction. No one bothered to look past his bored expression to see that, however. "Now. I believe there's something else that requires your…attention."

With that, he turned and walked away, disappearing.

Natsu growled again, renewing his attempts to get his remaining teammates off of him, but was caught off guard as they all heard a deafening roar.

"Is that…" Gajeel gaped.

"It can't be." Laxus argued, following the Iron Dragon Slayer's train of thought. Laxus might be a dragon slayer himself, but only because of a lacrima. He hadn't had any contact with a real dragon, and until hearing that roar honestly hadn't believed that they existed.

"The roar of a dragon!" Natsu's eyes bulged.

The others screamed in shock as a huge black dragon came into view, heading straight towards them.

"Shit." Laxus muttered.

He just _had_ to follow his gut and come to help, didn't he?

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, the rest of the Fairy Tail guild gasped or screamed in shock as a black magic circle appeared on the ceiling of the guild hall, dumping two of their own painfully onto a table.

"Lucy-nee! Wendy-nee!" Romeo shouted worriedly, the six-year-old rushing towards the girls and shouting at his dad to get help.

The acting guild master jumped into action, noting that they were in bad shape and Wendy too magically exhausted to heal herself (much less anyone else) and ordering for the girls to be brought to the infirmary.

Laki left to get Porlyusica, the old bat's bad attitude be damned.

"N-no!" Wendy cried out, struggling to sit up as Romeo tried to push her back down so she didn't make her wounds worse. "Don't bother! The others, they need—!"

She dissolved into a coughing fit, so Lucy took over for her, just as wide-eyed.

"We were attacked by Grimoure Heart." She said in a strangled voice. "T-they were looking for Zeref. We drove them off, and then ran into him. Next thing we know, we're being sucked into a portal, everyone is trying to grab onto us, and here we are."

If it hadn't been for her father trying to train her to act emotionless since her mother died, there would have been no way for her to get all of that out in her current state.

"Y-yeah, that." Wendy gasped, shaking slightly. "They need our help!"

"A-are you serious?" Kinana asked, face paling rapidly as she slowly walked towards the other girls, getting a strange feeling deep in her gut but not knowing why.

Grimoure Heart…she had heard of the guild, of course, but for some reason, she felt like she should know it a little more…well, intimately.

Damn her amnesia!

"Yeah." Lucy said, and the pure terror in her eyes was more than enough for everyone to believe her.

There was a pause as everyone tried to absorb that information, until there was a loud bang, and everyone jumped, looking towards Wendy.

The Sky Dragon Slayer was glaring at everyone angrily, fist on the now broken table.

"Why are you all just sitting around?!" she seethed. "Our friends are in DANGER! Call for help!"

The blunette's uncharacteristic behavior spurred everyone into action, and they brought out all of the communication lacrima they had.

Fifteen minutes later, and not only had they arranged for a rescue squad from their own guild to go to Tenrou Island and offer aid, but so had their allied guilds: Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Quatro Cerberus, and Mermaid Heel.

* * *

They were too late.

By the time anyone had arrived at their destination, Tenrou Island had already disappeared without a trace, with eyewitness accounts from the Rune Knights (and didn't _that_ just add to the unpleasantness) that a gigantic dragon had decimated everything in a single roar.

* * *

 **Please review! :D**

 **I decided to put everyone's reactions to the island's disappearance in the next chapter. Last time it was kind of short, so…yeah.**

 **Kinana's odd feeling about Grimoure Heart is because, as Cubellios, she was (kind of) a member of the Oracion Seis, which was one of the three guilds that made up the Balam Alliance of dark guilds, along with Grimoure Heart and Tartaros. All three guilds had smaller ones under their command, but they were the leaders. Of course, now we know that Tartaros was way more dangerous than anyone had imagined.**


	2. The News is Spread

**Disclaimer: Again, I don't own anything, thus far.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Those who hadn't gone with the rescue party froze in shock and disbelief as their guildmates told them the news, tears streaming down their faces as they did so.

"It was just…gone." Alzack told Bisca quietly with a faraway look in his eyes, looking slightly traumatized. "Nothing was there. If it weren't for the Rune Knights' ships, I wouldn't have known that it was the right place…"

The green haired gunslinger choked out a quiet sob.

Her tears were nothing compared to Jet and Droy's outright bawling as their minds tried to accept the fact that they would never see their beloved teammate again.

* * *

Doranbolt, or 'Mest Gryder' as the Fairy Tail mages had briefly known him as, appeared in their doorstep a week later, looking almost as shaken as they did.

Lucy and Wendy had only just been released from Porlyusica's care, having been treated for severe magical exhaustion, and the Sky Dragon Slayer noticed him first, as his scent was fresh in her mind.

"I don't think coming here was your best idea, _Mest_." Lucy said coldly as she noticed her young friend pale and found the cause.

The man flinched, but didn't bother trying to defend himself.

"I wanted to apologize." He said quietly. "I didn't…none of us knew that Grimoure Heart was going to show up, much less Acnologia. All I intended to do was see if there was any evidence of illegal activities. That was it. I wasn't going to attack or sabotage anyone, just report what I saw to the council."

They hadn't mentioned Zeref's presence on the island to the Council until after Doranbolt had resigned, so he had no idea that the most infamous mage in history had been there, too.

"We don't care _why_ you infiltrated our guild!" Laki snarled. "We care that you manipulated us! You messed with our MINDS, you bastard!"

He flinched.

Again.

Didn't try to defend himself.

Again.

In his mind, he deserved far worse.

"I'm so, so sorry." He whispered, turning to leave.

But then he heard a voice.

"Why me?"

He turned back, only to see Wendy Marvell staring at him with her soulful brown eyes, doing her best to keep her tears at bay.

Staring into her eyes, he decided to be honest, for what felt like the first time in a long while.

"I figured that if I needed to slip away, you'd be the least likely to notice." He admitted. "Even if Fairy Tail _was_ doing something illegal, I didn't think you were in on it, so it wasn't like that black cat said, about me thinking you would be the easiest to take out. I didn't…I didn't mean to get you mixed up in all of this."

Wendy hummed softly as she lowered her head, a sound that had Lucy, who knew her better than anyone else present, a bit wary.

"You know, if you hadn't asked me to be your partner for the exams, Carla would've have followed me there and…well." The blunette clenched one of her little fists tightly, trying to stop herself from releasing the tears that were threatening to fall. "On the other, when Grimoure Heart attacked, my healing skills were needed."

She finally looked up, eyes wet. "Your actions put me in a place where I was able to help them. So…I guess I should thank you, Mest. I just wish we had met under different circumstances."

Somehow, Doranbolt's guilt weighed upon him ten times for heavily, at that.

* * *

Hours later, after Doranbolt left, Lucy broke the silence that permeated the guild hall.

"You all know they're still alive, right?" the blonde said.

As one, every eye in the room turned towards her.

"W-what do you mean?" Romeo asked, a spark of hope shining in his eyes despite his unsmiling face.

"L-Lucy…" Kinana protested, not wanting the blonde to give anyone false hope just because she couldn't accept what had happened.

"We can't lose hope, you know." Lucy continued, ignoring the bar maid.

"What do you mean?" Droy asked bitterly as he took a large bite of a chicken breast, hoping to dull the pain. Maybe he could escape it by putting himself in a food coma. "They're dead."

"Not necessarily." Lucy disagreed, shaking her head softly, eyes alight. "See, there was this huge tree on the island. Master Makarov told us that its magic would ensure that no member of Fairy Tail died on the island."

At this point, hope had started to appear in a few more sets of eyes, as well.

"Our strongest members were all on that island." She said, gaining steam. "No way would they all be taken out so easily."

A couple of people let out a shaky chuckle at that, remembering how resilient some of them were, Erza and Natsu in particular.

As Lucy sensed her guildmates' morale rising, she glanced at Wendy with pleading eyes.

After all, the Sky Dragon Slayer was the only person there who knew that the tree had fallen, only to rise again later after Erza defeated her opponent.

Who knew if the tree's magic still worked, at this point?

Lucy was relieved when Wendy offered her a tiny, understanding nod.

The blunette wouldn't mention that particular detail.

Besides, they both knew in their souls that their friends—their _family_ —was still alive.

But the others hadn't been there. They didn't quite understand how stubborn they had all been, how fiercely determined they were to survive, to beat the odds and come out on top.

"They're alive." Wendy spoke aloud, thoughts aligned with Lucy's. "They have to be."

The two girls didn't notice Romeo looking at them in awe, admiration shining in his dark eyes as the six-year-old also sensed everyone's mood lift at their words.

He hadn't wanted to believe that everyone on the island had been killed (and yes, he knew what that meant; his father had explained it to him after his mother had passed away a couple of years ago), and it was heartening to know that he wasn't the only person who had such faith in their family.

In that moment, the two girls joined Natsu on Romeo's list of role models.

* * *

"So…what do we do now?" Reedus asked quietly.

"Well…" Laki began hesitantly. "Master Makarov left Macao in charge while they went to take the exams. So we have a leader."

Macao groaned, recalling the last time he'd gone into Makarov's office to talk with him. There had been so much paperwork…

'Of course, I don't need to worry about Natsu and the others giving me _more_ paperwork.' He thought bitterly.

"We're still down nearly twenty members." Kinana said, wringing a dish towel nervously. "Like Lucy said, all of our strongest members were on that island. If they're not here…"

"Magnolia is the most coveted city in Fiore for a guild to be based in." Laki continued, following her friend's train of thought. "Aside from Crocus, of course, but obviously that's not an option for any guild. Are we going to get booted out?"

"Ugh." Wakaba groaned around his cigar. "I don't want to think about it. The mayor lets us stay because having we bring a lot of attention to the city, but who's to say that will continue now?"

"So, what, we need to be…not boring?" Jet asked, sounding only slightly less sullen than he had earlier. Levy was still missing, after all, even if the girls were right and she wasn't actually gone forever.

"Couldn't hurt." Max agreed.

"We should probably try to recruit a bit, too." Lucy mused aloud. "With so many people suddenly…well, gone…there might not be enough of us here to help pay off our debt."

She meant, of course, the small pay cut that Makarov had previously taken from everyone's job rewards (some higher than others) to pay off the debt most of them contributed to by destroying things left and right.

"Ah, good point." Macao grimaced, not wanting them all to have to pay a higher penalty to make up for the loss.

"We can try and make an appeal to the Council, negotiate a payment plan so we have longer to pay it off." Lucy continued, tapping her leg absentmindedly as her mind wandered back to the lessons her old tutors had drilled into her brain throughout her childhood. "They kind of owe _us_ , at this point, after everything. It shouldn't be too hard, and if we have to we can threaten to tell Sorcerer Weekly about them sending someone to infiltrate us. That would put them at odds with all of the other legal and independent guilds, so they'll want to avoid that."

"Damn." Nab muttered with a shudder. "Remind me not to get on her bad side."

"Good call." Vjeeter agreed weakly.

Lucy was so bright and cheerful that they all tended to forget that she had been raised (well, kind of) by arguably the most successful businessman in Fiore.

"Scary." Wakaba admitted with a smirk.

"Where should we start?" Macao asked Lucy directly, ignoring the byplay.

The blonde smiled at him. "Here, of course."

It took a moment, but eventually everyone turned towards Macao, looking at him pointedly.

The older man sighed.

He had wanted to hold off for at least a few more years…

"Romeo, son…" he ventured. "I know you've been learning magic, from that guy who was in Phantom Lord with Juvia and Gajeel."

"Totomaru-sensei." Romeo said, wide-eyed.

He was blushing at having been caught doing something that he knew his dad wouldn't approve of, but wide-eyed because he might be young and innocent, but he was NOT stupid, nor was he oblivious.

Before Macao could continue, Romeo quickly said; "Yes. Please."

"You sure, kiddo?" Wakaba asked around his cigar. "It's a big commitment."

'Tell that to the people who left the guild the moment they heard the others weren't coming back.' Romeo thought uncharitably, but smiled despite the bitter turn his thoughts had taken. "I'm sure."

More than a few people were startled at the raw determination in the young boy's eyes, and they were forced to wonder when he had grown up, since apparently they hadn't noticed it.

With a smile, Kinana reached behind the bar, taking out the magic stamping tool that Mirajane used— _used_ to use to give people their guild marks, including Kinana herself.

"Where and what color, kiddo?" she asked brightly.

Romeo grinned back at her, and Macao found himself relaxing slightly. That was the happiest he'd seen his son since the Tenrou group disappeared, even including his attitude after Lucy's words convinced them that they were still alive.

It just pained him, sometimes.

After all, he had been among those wondering when his son had grown up without them noticing.

He resolved to make sure to pay more attention to the important things, instead of drinking and smoking with his best friend.

After all, Romeo was the most important thing in his life, and he knew that he didn't always act like it.

* * *

Meanwhile, miles away, an entirely different scene was taking place.

"Lyon..." a pink-haired beauty whispered sadly as she saw one of her closest friends seemingly try to drink himself to death.

Her crush on him might have lessened slightly (only _slightly_ ) since meeting the dark-skinned Air Magic user from Blue Pegasus back when they allied their guilds together against the Oracion Seis, but the white-haired boy was still one of the most important people in her life.

And he had just lost the person that Sherry knew he considered family, despite the fact that he never would have admitted it.

She couldn't even imagine how much pain he was in.

Yes, Deliora had killed her family, but honestly, she didn't remember them very much. Lyon was the reason she had joined his quest to slay the demon for good, and later the reason she joined Lamia Scale.

But Lyon…he had just lost the one thing he had left of his life before, back when things were better.

Now, Sherry wasn't a particularly religious person, though she often referenced Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, but she found herself praying to anyone that was listening that Lyon would survive this.

* * *

Wendy personally went to the newly established Exceed village to inform them of what had happened to Carla, Happy, and Pantherlily.

After all, she had deduced pretty easily that Queen Shagotte was Carla's mother, despite the white Exceed's own state of denial on the matter, and knew that she deserved to know what had happened.

It went about as well as could be expected.

Which, of course, meant not at all.

Wendy, Shagotte, and Happy's parents Lucky and Marl, ended up crying in each other's arms, even the normally stubborn Lucky openly weeping about the events that had fallen the son (and possible future daughter-in-law) that they had never really gotten the chance to know.

* * *

Somewhere, a trio of mages were traveling the world, excited to finally get to move around freely after so long held back by the Tower of Heaven, before and after Jellal took over.

They tended to stay away from civilization, not used to being around so many people all the time, and as such it took a while for them to hear the news.

"Erzy-werzy!" Millianna wailed.

"Nee-san!" Shō whimpered.

Wally didn't move a muscle.

They had always assumed that once they'd satisfied their wanderlust they would be able to travel back to Magnolia and officially join Fairy Tail, reuniting with Erza and becoming a family once more.

But apparently it wasn't meant to be.

* * *

Eventually, news of the attack and subsequent deaths of the more prominent Fairy Tail mages reached the inmates at the prison run by the Magic Council.

Among them, of course, were Jellal Fernandes and Richard 'Hot Eye' Buchanan, both of whom had some sort of connection to one of those who had been…obliterated, was the term their guards had used, knowing that it would cause them even more pain.

Richard closed his eyes sadly, knowing that his brother Wally had been close to Erza from their own time in the Tower of Heaven.

She had promised to tell Wally that he was alive and well when she next saw him, and Richard had no real way of knowing whether or not she'd had the opportunity to keep that promise, since he acknowledged that even if he did know Richard was alive, his actions as a member of the Seis might have caused him to avoid visiting.

Not that he blamed the redhead, of course.

Most of all, he felt sorry for the blunette hovering in the cell a few meters above his own.

Richard didn't know for sure, but he suspected that Jellal's memories had started coming back, considering the whimpers and pleas Richard sometimes heard coming from the man when he was sleeping.

He might not know Jellal, and he didn't know Erza either, not really, but he did know love, and whether he knew it or not Jellal was definitely in love with the redheaded Requip mage.

And now he would never get a chance to tell her even if he did eventually get released.

A lone tear fell down Richard's oddly shaped cheek as his heart went out to the pair.

* * *

 **Please review! :D**

 **Better? Worse? If it's the latter, don't worry, I have time to improve. So far I've only rewritten the first chapter of the Aurora re-write, I just decided to split that up and make the reactions longer and more varied.**


	3. Fight for Freedom

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that's appeared thus far.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

It wasn't very long after her friends disappeared that Wendy had an idea.

According to Lucy-nee, the Magic Council owed Fairy Tail in a _huge_ way, and they would probably bend backwards to stop Fairy Tail from releasing the fact that they had infiltrated their guild in order to find a reason to tear apart their guild.

Right before she joined Fairy Tail, she had seen the Rune Knights carry out a huge miscarriage of justice when they arrested Jellal for his actions from when he was one of the councilmembers and Wizard Saints, despite the fact that they were _told_ and were entirely willing to prove that he had been possessed when he did all of those things.

The blunette knew by now that he wasn't the Jellal that she knew, of course.

No, the Fairy Tail guild knew her Jellal as Mystogan, and at this point he had taken his rightful place on the throne back in his own world, safe and making sure that his people would survive no longer being able to use magic.

She missed him so much.

The only person she had even really been able to talk to about her Jellal was Pantherlily, and now even he…well.

First she lost her birth parents (not that she remembered them), then Grandineey, Jellal, her old family at Cait Shelter who didn't even turn out to be real _people_ , and now Carla and what sometimes seemed like everyone else she had come to care about.

Sometimes Wendy felt like she was cursed to a life of heartbreak and loneliness…

'But enough about that!' she thought to herself determinedly as she shook her head, causing strands of her dark blue hair to fall into her eyes. 'Time to see if there's anything we can do to help Jellal…'

After all, it was still Jellal, even if he wasn't the one that she had known.

Even if her sense of justice didn't demand she try and get Jellal out of prison, she owed it to Erza to at least try.

Now she just needed to talk to Lucy…

* * *

First order of business: go visit Jellal in prison.

Simple, right?

After all, it was hardly an unusual concept. In fact, it was entirely allowed.

Except for the fact that apparently no one had thought that anyone cared enough about Jellal to come visit him and report anything strange about how they found him, so they were a bit…negligent, to say the least.

…No, the two girls couldn't even sugarcoat it that much.

It wasn't neglect, it was outright abuse.

And they were _furious._

When they entered the Hall of Crystals (such a presumptuous name for the room where they kept the prisoners in those crystal-shaped lacrima), it was to see one of those amphibian-like creatures employed by the council torturing Jellal by using an electric rod to electrocute him.

What. The. Hell.

Now, Lucy and Wendy both had very good control over their magic, despite not having studied their craft as long as some of the other mages in their guild had.

However, seeing what they knew to be an innocent man being tortured, because a couple of creepy toads were bored and decided they had the right to do whatever they wanted to him?

Well.

Needless to say Lucy had her whip out and at the ready in less than a moment, and Wendy could now give an educated guess at how powerful her magic might be if she consumed Ethernano and went into Dragon Force like Natsu had told her about before they all disappeared.

But no, there was no Ethernano in the air, or at least no more than was natural.

She was just _pissed off_.

And as Natsu or Gajeel could have told you, it was a BAD idea to piss off a female dragon, _especially_ if you were a threat to someone they cared about.

* * *

As it turned out, Lucy was right.

It _was_ surprisingly easy to come to an 'agreement' with the Magic Council and the Rune Knights to arrange for Jellal's release.

They had tried to extend that to Richard, too, since Nirvana had realigned his morality and he regretted his time with the Oracion Seis, but the former dark mage politely refused their assistance, instead merely asking them to let his brother know what had happened to him if they ever crossed paths.

The two girls had agreed to do so, and dropped the subject.

For now, at least.

Anyway, back to the Council.

They had agreed to release Jellal, on the condition that he live with either Lucy or Wendy, preferably both, for a few years so that he could 'adjust.'

Privately, the girls thought their reasoning was closer to: 'then we can hold them accountable if he does anything wrong.'

But they knew that the Council would only agree to so much in such a short time, despite the amount of blackmail that Fairy Tail now held over their heads, so they didn't comment.

And that was how the three of them moved in together, with Lucy moving out of her beloved home (she was of two minds about it, considering it also meant she got away from her demonic landlady) and Wendy moving out of her room at Fairy Hills.

Honestly, Wendy and Lucy didn't regret it all that much.

The two girls had so many memories of their friends at their former residence that it was sometimes heartbreaking to step inside. At least now they could find comfort in each other.

* * *

A few hundred miles away, a young teenager with long dark hair held back with a white ribbon choked on her food as she caught a glimpse of the newspaper one of her guildmates was reading.

Jellal Fernades…had been released from prison?

Time to go get that sword she'd been keeping safe out of storage…

* * *

 **Please review! :)**

 **Meredy and Ultear will still end up joining Fairy Tail, it's just that in this version it didn't take nearly as long for Lucy to arrange Jellal's release from the prison, so they never had the chance to hear about it and offer their help.**


	4. Ultear's Redemption Begins

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything as of yet.**

 **Okay, I keep forgetting to do this: now the crossover characters are no longer limited by those that I listed in that (second to last, I think) chapter of the Aurora of the High Heavens Re-Write. I still won't add characters from a series I haven't seen, but I didn't add all of the series that I** _ **have**_ **seen to that list, so…yeah.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

Now, Wendy didn't regret for a moment that she and Lucy had fought for Jellal's freedom.

He was an innocent man, and he hadn't deserved anything that had happened to him since he was first kidnapped by the Zeref cult as a child, much less being imprisoned after he was finally released from the possession.

However…and she understood, she truly did…Jellal's nonstop apologizing and silently uncertain demeanor really bugged her. And Lucy.

They understood that he blamed himself (however irrationally) for everything he had done while possessed. But they also knew that, obviously, he had no choice in the matter, and in their opinion that meant that he had nothing to apologize for.

The issue was that while Jellal agreed that he hadn't been able to control himself, he thought that he should have been able to do so, and so he still placed that blame on his shoulders.

And so far, nothing either of the girls said or tried would break him out of that mindset.

Until, while out getting groceries to fill their bare kitchen, they ran into a pair of familiar faces.

* * *

Ultear's face paled to an unhealthy chalk white color as she turned the corner at the grocery store and came face to face with one of the people whose life she can completely and utterly destroyed in her naïve goal to turn back time, which of course had been doomed from the start.

"Jellal—!" she choked.

The blue haired man's eyes grew wide in shock as he looked at his former ally—or more accurately, the woman he thought he had been working with but who in reality was using her magic to control his every action.

"Ultear." He said quietly, tensing slightly.

* * *

"You!" Jellal heard Lucy hiss as she caught sight of the former dark mage, and he turned to see the blonde whip out one of her gold keys—the violent mermaid—and start to chant the incantation.

He glanced back towards Ultear, expecting her to retaliate, but the dark haired woman did nothing, just closing her eyes as she awaited her fate.

The familiarity, the feeling that he knew _exactly_ what she was feeling right now, caused Jellal's more negative feelings about her to evaporate.

He didn't know why, how, or when, but somehow Ultear had turned her back on that darker path. Wendy and Lucy had mentioned that she had been on Tenrou, and he wondered who had managed to get through to her.

Oh, right. Lucy was still readying an attack.

"Wait!" a voice said, and Jellal belatedly realized that it was his own, as his body automatically moved in front of Ultear's to block the near attack.

Lucy hesitated, cutting off her chant but keeping her key at the ready. "Jellal?"

It was silent for a long moment.

Jellal risked a glance back, and saw the utter shock and confusion in Ultear's dark eyes as she stared at him, trying to figure out why he had just stopped the Celestial Spirit mage.

He hadn't done it consciously, but seeing that look in the woman's eyes hardened his resolve.

"Somehow I get the feeling she was manipulated just as much as I was." He said quietly. "If that's the case, and you truly believe what you've been telling me, about how I'm not to blame for what I did while under her magic…we should at least give her a chance to explain."

Lucy stared at Jellal for a long moment, and then at Ultear, who was clearly still in shock, before sighing and lowering her key.

"Wendy, you can come out now." She called, and a moment later Wendy appeared from behind one of the aisle shelves, having been lying in wait with her own attack prepared just in case the former Grimoure Heart mage caused a scene.

Meredy, likewise, appeared on the other side of the aisle, having been prepared to use her Maguilty Sense on the three Fairy Tail mages if they attacked her Ultear.

They all looked at each other warily.

"Let's get to the guild hall." Lucy offered after a long moment, turning to lead the way to the checkout lanes, deciding that they would do the rest of their shopping later. "I believe we have a lot to talk about."

The other four followed her without any protests.

* * *

"…and Lord Hades—sorry, I mean Precht, had told me before I even started learning my Arc of Time magic that I would be able to use it to reverse time so that I could re-live my life from a point of my choosing." Ultear explained quietly. "It wasn't until later that he told me that it would be impossible to do on my own, and that Zeref was the key to going back far enough."

"That's why you got involved with the Tower of Heaven." Jellal realized. "The R-System was being built by Zeref cultists, back then."

"Yes." Ultear flinched at the unintentional reminder. "By the time I realized that they had no idea what they were doing, and that there was no way they would be able to resurrect Zeref—granted, he never died in the first place—Hades, or Precht, whichever, had developed an interest in the R-System. Or, more specifically, the lacrima crystals they used to make it."

"Which is where I came into play." Jellal noted with a slow nod as he pieced the story together. "You couldn't be at the Tower all the time, so you needed someone to run things while you were gone. And someone to side with you when it was time to fire the Etherion. As it was, the voting came close."

Ultear nodded, not daring to speak, still keeping her eyes lowered.

She flinched slightly as a hand came down on her shoulder. It was a gentle touch, but unexpected.

The Arc of Time mage glanced at the hand, following the arm it was attached to and eventually looking into the blue haired Heavenly Body mage's eyes.

He gave her a small, forgiving smile.

It couldn't be that easy.

Not after everything that she had done to him. To all of them.

But as far as he was concerned, she was worthy of his forgiveness.

She felt her heart break slightly, just a little.

Why couldn't she have chosen someone else to manipulate, back then? She could have had her pick, considering how many people the cultists had kidnapped to build the Tower.

But no, out of all of them, she had chosen to hurt a good kid, now a good man.

A lone tear slipped down her face.

* * *

"Do you really forgive her?" Wendy asked quietly once she had a moment alone with Jellal. "Even after everything?"

Jellal gave a slow, considering nod.

"Because what she did…" Wendy struggled with the words. "She wasn't really trying to hurt anyone. She did all of that thinking that she could reverse it later. All she wanted was another chance to grow up with her mother—to keep her family together."

She hummed, beginning to walk slowly backwards as she crept towards the door.

"And really, your reason is much better than hers is." She said. "Just food for thought. If you can forgive her and recognize that she isn't the one who should ultimately be blamed, then you should be able to acknowledge the fact that the same thing applies in your case."

And with that, she left, shutting the door behind her.

Jellal stood there for another long moment, before finally.

"I'll try…Wendy."

And he would. But he couldn't guarantee that he would succeed.

In the meantime, however…well.

Like the other Fairy Tail mages, he held the belief that their guildmates on Tenrou Island weren't died. Erza was far too stubborn to go out that easily.

And when he saw her again, someday…he wanted to be able look her in the eye again.

* * *

And so Ultear and Meredy joined Fairy Tail, hoping to start again and try and create that family that both of them had always wanted, aside from each other, of course.

Unfortunately, they didn't have any real news for the guild members, as far as what happened to the island after Wendy and Lucy were sent away.

They had been trying to get back on their boat at the time (they didn't mention why they were in the water, and at Meredy's pale face no one asked), but they did mention catching a glimpse of what looked like a magical barrier surrounding the island right as Acnologia attacked.

They couldn't be sure, since they had been a little distracted, and they warned their new guildmates of that fact, but the others knew the truth.

Their friends really had survived the apparent destruction of Tenrou Island.

And it really was only a matter of time until they were able to see them again.

Now Droy could stop trying to force himself into a food coma to try and stave off his depression. After all, if he still wanted a chance with Levy, then he needed to watch his weight, or else she would be more likely to choose Jet.

And he couldn't let that happen.

* * *

 **Please review! :D**

 **Yay? Nay? Wasn't sure how to handle this one. I added the domesticity for the hell of it.**


	5. Porlyusica's Confession

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

 **Quick question—are you guys all seeing that this story is being updated?**

 **Don't get me wrong, I'm not begging for reviews here. I just want to make sure that you guys are seeing when this story has been updated, either via alert or on a favorites page, because I HAVE gotten PMs before telling me that somehow they never received alerts and as such missed a few updates.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

In the woods surrounding Fiore, an older woman with pink hair bit her lip, contemplating whether or not it was the right time to give the girl her mother's legacy, which she had left in her care to give to the girl when she was ready.

Considering her own link to the girl's mother…

Why did everything have to be so complicated?

* * *

A few days later, Lucy and Jellal came home from their weekly meeting with Jellal's probation officer to find Wendy curled up on the window seat, staring outside with a dazed look in her eyes.

The older mages shared a concerned, hesitant look before Lucy slowly approached the younger girl, and Jellal went to the kitchen to make the three of them some hot chocolate, which the duo had quickly found out was Wendy's favorite drink in weather like this.

Luckily, the window seat was big enough for two, so Lucy had more than enough room to sit down.

"Wendy?" she murmured softly.

The dark haired blunette gave a slow blink and turned towards her, and Lucy's heart panged at the mixed emotions in the young girl's eyes.

"Are you okay?" the blonde asked hesitantly, hoping that the younger girl wasn't thinking about their friends on Tenrou.

"I spoke with Porlyusica today." Wendy offered quietly. "I had a question about healing that I hoped she could help me with."

"The dragon lady?" Lucy's eyes widened comically. "She didn't hurt you, did she? I mean, I only met her once, and I'm sure she's a good person deep down, but she kept threatening us with her broom…"

"No, that's not it." Wendy denied, bending her legs and bringing them up to her chest so she could wrap her arms around them. "I…when I first saw her, she was so…familiar. At first I couldn't figure out why, but now..."

"Now…" Lucy urged gently.

"She's Grandineey." Wendy said.

It was silent for a long moment.

"Grandineey." Lucy repeated. "The Sky Dragon."

"I know it sounds kind of crazy…" Wendy admitted, sensing that Jellal had returned but not being bothered by him listening in. It's not like she hadn't intended to tell both of them. "But she confirmed it. But…she's not _my_ Grandineey. She's the Edolas version…of my mom."

At that, Jellal nearly dropped their mugs, despite the fact that he was usually so graceful.

"Edolas." He said, wide-eyed. "Isn't that where…"

"Mystogan, or the Jellal that Wendy first knew, came from." Lucy confirmed in an even softer tone, knowing that Wendy still missed the other Jellal. "But…Porlyusica has been in Earthland since long before we were born! She was on a team with Master Makaro—I mean, gramps. That was long before Edolas' king started stealing our magic, right? And how did she get here?"

"She said that she didn't know." Wendy offered, accepting her mug from Jellal with a slight smile and a nod of thanks. "She was just never able to figure out how to get back, and by the time she met Mystogan and realized that he had also come from Edolas, she didn't care enough to try and leave."

"Does she know what happened to—I mean…" Jellal stammered "Did she ever meet you mother?"

"Once." Wendy nodded. "Apparently just before…well, before she disappeared. Mom left behind a book for Porlyusica to give me. I haven't looked through it yet, but she said that it contains instructions for more Sky Dragon Slayer techniques. She doesn't know where my mom went, though."

"Oh, Wendy." Lucy sighed, now noticing the unfamiliar book that was on the coffee table. They hadn't noticed it earlier, because obviously they'd been concerned about Wendy.

"I'll be okay." Wendy teared up slightly, bringing a hand up to wipe them away a moment later. "It's just…in a way, it's kind of like I'm losing her all over again."

Jellal and Lucy exchanged another look before Jellal wrapped his arms around the younger blunette and lifted her up, moving them to the couch, where Lucy joined him in hugging the younger mage.

* * *

It took a few weeks for Wendy to really absorb the fact that Porlyusica was another world's version of her beloved mother, Grandineey the Sky Dragon.

Maybe it wouldn't have taken her quite so long if there wasn't so much else going on, not that anyone (Porlyusica included) blamed her in the slightest for her reactions.

Anyway, now Wendy was determined to get to know Porlyusica (the older woman had been really annoyed when Wendy called her Grandineey, so she tried not to do that very often).

The woman was stubborn, but Wendy had faith that she would be able to develop at least a mentor and student relationship with her at some point, helped along by the fact that Wendy used Healing Magic and Porlyusica was a healer, even if obviously she didn't use magic.

It would just take some time.

Until then…she had a book to get through.

Wendy didn't know if she would ever have the opportunity to see Grandineey (the dragon, not Porlyusica who went by an alias) again, but she wanted her mother to be proud of her, wherever she was.

If she could get stronger…in whatever way she could…then maybe she wouldn't be helpless the next time someone (or something) threatened the people she loved.

As she saw Lucy struggling to cast Urano Metria without Gemini's help, she knew that Lucy had come to the same conclusion.

* * *

 **Please review! :)**


	6. Yukino Makes an Appearance

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

 **The Fangirling-Fanboy: Don't worry, BB x Raven is most definitely on my list of pairings for this story. :)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Wakaba looked up, stunned, as his long-time friend sat down next to him and whimpered.

"Uh, Macao, are you okay?" the smoking man asked, concerned at the uncharacteristic action.

The purple-haired man looked at him, looking ruffled and, honestly, kind of pitiful.

"I only just finished the paperwork to officially become the guild master." Macao explained quietly, both men pointedly ignoring the pang they felt in their hearts at the words. "So the guild's magic let me go through our financial records."

Wakaba cursed under his breath, causing Macao to nod in agreement.

"Yeah." He grimaced. "Turns out we're worse off than the old man ever let on. If we don't do something soon, we're going to lose the building."

Of course, it was at that moment that the loud chatter in the guild hall that had been masking their conversation ceased, so everyone heard him say it.

It was silent for a long moment.

"What did you say?" Laki asked, eyes wide behind her glasses.

Macao winced, horrified that he hadn't thought to make their conversation more private, especially as he caught the stricken look on his son's face.

"B-but we just re-built it!" Max protested. "Some of us put our blood, sweat, tears, and MAGIC into it!"

"Oh, the building itself is ours." Macao said dryly, signing in resignation as he realized he wouldn't be able to distract them from this. "But the land itself was still being paid off, and we don't really have the funds to keep making those payments right now."

"I don't suppose that's something the council can help us with?" Nab asked with a sigh.

Everyone looked towards Jellal and Ultear, who had of course both been councilmembers previously, and the two mages exchanged a glance.

"I doubt it." Jellal admitted, causing Ultear to nod with a frown. "The council doesn't oversee the debt collectors unless the debt is to them specifically. We could try and renegotiate with the loan office itself, but the leverage you guys have over the council won't help."

Lucy sighed. "So, what, we have to fundraise just so we can keep staying here?"

Macao blinked at her. "Well…yeah, I suppose."

"The Magnolia Harvest Festival isn't for another two months, and we never made money from that in the first place." Bisca pondered. "Even if we could think of some way to make money from that, would we even last that long?"

Macao grimaced again, which told them all they needed to know.

It was best not to risk it, even if they technically could.

"So…" Macao coughed awkwardly. "Any ideas?"

A few eyes gleamed at the prospect of a challenge…

* * *

*Two weeks later*

Yukino's eyes widened in wonder at the sight in front of her.

She had been dreaming of having the opportunity to travel the kingdom to tour the various guilds in Fiore, and now that she was finally in Magnolia to see the Fairy Tail guild (having saved the best for last), she found out that the guild was throwing a surprise event for the townspeople!

Maybe her luck was turning around…

The streets were so crowded that the small preteen had a hard time getting around, but Yukino was so fascinated by the sights and smells around her that she didn't mind.

Food, beer (not that she would be drinking), homemade goods, performances…this place had it all!

In one corner there was a large, funny-looking man running a stall where he alternated between painting people's faces and drawing caricatures.

Another stall was being run by two teenagers in Western-style clothing, something to do with shooting a gun, though someone moved in front of her before she could tell exactly what.

At the park playground there was a blonde man creating anything requested of him with his Sand Magic, and then at the town hall she saw another blonde man enthusiastically conducting an auction (she had never heard someone say the word 'cool' so many times).

Of course, the local businesses (and it looked like more than a few from out of town) were taking advantage of Fairy Tail's event by contributing, having paid a fee to join in since Fairy Tail had managed to reserve pretty much the entire town.

It was amazing.

Yukino didn't know what to try first!

Eventually she decided to get her face painted, and went towards the large man with the strange hat.

After waiting in line for a few moments, she decided to get the Zodiac symbols of the spirits she was contracted with painted on her cheek.

She had been prepared to draw them out for reference, but the large man, who introduced himself as Reedus, didn't need it.

"One of my guildmates is a Celestial Spirit mage." He explained when she asked, and Yukino was heartened by the fond smile on his face as he spoke of the other Celestial Spirit mage. Most of them weren't really good people, having let the power of having 'slaves' under their control. "I was curious about her keys, so she showed them to me. I looked up the ones she didn't have."

Yukino nodded in understanding, gasping in awe as she felt the man use his Pict Magic to animate whatever he had just drawn.

"Ah, I might have gone slightly overboard." He said sheepishly as he handed her a mirror to show her.

Her jaw dropped as she saw not only the Zodiac symbols for Pisces, Libra, and Ophiuchus, but their constellations as well, with the stars sparkling and giving off a dazzling effect.

"T-thank you!" she choked out, feeling overwhelmed as tears started to build.

Reedus panicked slightly when he saw her tears, but after remembering what she had just said, he realized that they were happy tears.

"You're very welcome, little star princess." Reedus smiled gently down at the sweet girl and trying to resist the urge to ruffle the girl's hair (she reminded him so much of Lisanna, and god, it had hurt so much to lose the girl along with the others so soon after they had gotten her back).

She blushed at the nickname he had given her, and he was struck with the feeling that she was very, very lonely. He could see it in her eyes. Just like he had seen in many of his guildmates' eyes when they thought about their pasts.

Maybe Fairy Tail could become a home for her, just like it had for so many other lonely children, and lonely people in general.

"You know, our own resident Celestial Spirit mage, Lucy Heartfilia, decided to sign up for the show tonight at 8." He offered. "She has…well, a 'few' Zodiac keys of her own."

Yukino looked up at him curiously, having noticed the slight emphasis on the word 'few', but decided not to ask, and assured him that she would attend the show before thanking him and disappearing back into the crowd.

Meanwhile, Reedus marveled slightly at the idea that, even if Lucy and the younger girl never met face to face, the twelve (he thought, though he wondered at that third symbol) Zodiac spirits were in the same place (Magnolia, and even closer if she did go to the blonde's show) for the first time in what had to be centuries, at least.

* * *

Yukino had never stopped being in awe since the moment she stepped foot in Magnolia, but it was worth mentioning that the feeling grew to even greater heights as she watched the performers wow the crowd (herself included) with amazing feats of magic.

She perked up when she saw a blonde girl a few years older than her walk up onto the stage after the Trimen from Blue Pegasus had completed their own act.

The girl was beautiful, no doubt, and certainly her appearance caused the vast majority of those inclined towards her gender to zero in on her, but Yukino's gaze was drawn to something else.

The Celestial Spirit keys on her belt.

It was hard to tell, from the distance, but…did she have _ten_ gold keys?!

Her hand went down to her pocket, feeling the outline of her own two golden keys, and the dark gray one that belonging to Ophiuchus, the so-called Thirteenth Zodiac that most didn't even believe in.

Together, Yukino and the older girl (Lucy, she recalled) had the entire set.

It was…she couldn't even think of a word to describe what she was feeling right now.

* * *

Lucy took a deep breath as she hesitantly stepped up onto the stage.

"Hello, everybody!" she said as genuinely as she could, smiling at the crowd. She swallowed slightly as she saw just how many people were there, and did her best not to falter as she continued on. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia, with Fairy Tail. I use Celestial Spirit magic."

She took her ring of keys from her belt. "Celestial Spirit magic is one of the most diverse types of magic in the world."

As she spoke, all of her keys glowed brightly, and suddenly ten golden orbs and five silver orbs appeared, swirling around her before shooting up into the air, leaving star trails behind them as they moved. A few of them sped off into the crowd to interact with the audience, one of them tugging the hair of a small white-haired girl who gasped in wide-eyed delight.

"There are twelve Zodiac keys in the world, and the other Celestial spirits have about five keys in the world at any given time." Lucy continued as her otherworldly friends, still in spherical form, gathered back around her, glowing even brighter. "There are 88 constellations, and each one has one or more spirit to represent it. They're all unique, with their own strengths and weaknesses, though some would deny it…"

One of the orbs smacked her in the head.

Lucy smiled wryly as the crowd laughed.

There was no physical way of telling which spirit it was, but Lucy would bet every Jewel she had that it was Aquarius.

* * *

Most of the crowd couldn't feel it, but Yukino sensed the emotions pouring off the spirits in waves, all directed towards their contractor, Lucy Heartfilia.

Warmth, protectiveness, reluctant fondness, gratitude, and concern were but a few of the many feelings the spirits were emoting.

But stronger than any of those other emotions was…

 _Love._

Yukino was struck by a realization.

She was drawn to this girl because, so far, she seemed to be everything that Yukino wanted to be, and everything that she _wished_ her mother had been.

The person she knew her sister would have become if she had survived the raid that killed their parents all those years ago.

"They're some of the best friends a person could ever have." Lucy Heartfilia finished her presentation, smiling fondly after her spirits as they disappeared to go back to their realm.

'Lucy-sama…' Yukino thought to herself as she palmed her own golden keys, eyes tearing up again.

She would become a better master than her mother had been. She wouldn't treat them as tools or shields like so many other Celestial Spirit mages.

She wasn't at the point where she could summon her spirits yet to make the contract, but she would be soon.

'I will treat my spirits as well as you do, Lucy-sama!' she continued thinking, utterly determined. 'That's a promise!'

And as any Celestial Spirit mage would tell you, they NEVER broke their promises.

* * *

The next morning, as Yukino was about to leave Magnolia and go back to the orphanage where she lived, tour completed, she ran into Reedus.

She gasped, surprised, but not hesitated to bow in respect. "Thank you again for yesterday, Reedus-san!"

The large man smiled down at her, giving into the urge to ruffle her hair this time as he noticed that she was still alone, even though it looked like she was leaving.

"Yukino-chan, it was a pleasure." He said with a flourish, bowing back deeply. "If I may ask…are you…ah, that is to say…"

Yukino gave him a small, sad smile, knowing what he was trying to ask.

After all, he was hardly the first adult to become concerned upon realizing that the twelve-year-old was traveling on her own.

"Yes." She answered simply. "Do not worry, I will be fine."

"I'm sure you would be." Reedus agreed, knowing from experience just how strong and independent some children were. "However…I was wondering…"

Yukino tilted her head curiously.

"Have you considered joining a guild?" he asked. "Fairy Tail would be more than happy to have you, if you're interested…"

Yukino's jaw dropped, utter shock filling her.

Along with, for the first time in a while…

Hope.

Maybe she could finally have a family again!

* * *

 **Please review! :)**


	7. Erik Makes an Appearance

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything aside from a few characters that I will specify as they appear.**

 **Note: Happy NaNoWriMo! No idea if I'm going to bother trying for 50,000 words (if I do it certainly won't be for the same story, just in total), but whatever.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

*1 Year After Tenrou*

Wendy gasped as her breath was knocked out of her for the umpteenth time.

She grimaced down at the small cut on her arm, focusing her healing abilities to draw out the poison in the wound, even if she couldn't technically heal the wound itself.

The Sky Dragon Slayer would never have thought of that, but her tutor had brought up the possibility of her being able to do so to her mentor, Porlyusica, and the old woman agreed to let them try.

"Erik!" she groaned as the rest of the poison left her body.

"Hm?" the Poison Dragon Slayer tilted his head mockingly in her direction, though obviously he had heard her, considering his Sound magic enhanced his hearing even more than being an (artificial) dragon slayer had.

The blunette scowled at him, causing him to smirk.

He'd be lying if he said he didn't feel a slight bit of pride at being the only who she felt comfortable enough with to scowl at. Well, that wasn't an enemy, at least.

Granted, it might just be because no one else went out of their way to make things more difficult for her…

"You gave me a higher concentration of poison on purpose." She pouted, bringing out the watery puppy dog eyes as she stared up at him through her eyelashes. "I thought…I thought we were like brother and sister. Do you like seeing me in pain, big brother?"

Erik raised a single eyebrow, impressed.

"That's pretty good, kid." He admitted, amused as the thirteen-year-old immediately dropped her act and stood up, not bothering to try and get the dirt off of her dress. "I might have fallen for it if I didn't have my magic."

She sighed, but nodded.

Honestly, she hadn't been expecting it to work.

"Still, though…" Wendy's eyes gained a sparkle, causing her older companion to look at her warily. "Maybe I should bring this up to Kinana…"

Erik's jaw dropped.

"Seriously, kid?!" he demanded, giving her a noogie and ignoring her protests.

* * *

So, a few months after Jellal had joined the guild, Lucy realized that obviously the blunette couldn't have been the only prisoner that was brought up on false charges, and even the people who really were guilty might very well be mistreated, too.

Not wanting Fairy Tail to take action against them, the Magic Council (and the Rune Knights) reluctantly allowed for an inspection of the prison, and for all of those cases to be reviewed.

When they came upon those who had been enslaved at the Tower of Heaven, only to turn to crime after escaping, things got a little more…complicated.

On the one hand, they had five out of the six members of the dark guild known as Oracion Seis.

On the other, every last one of them had been a victim from the time they were young children, and of _course_ they would have followed the orders of the man who saved them from that hellhole.

The fact that the Magic Council had failed in taking care of the whole situation with the R-System began put the former (?) dark mages in even more of a sympathetic light.

And so, after a lot of internal fighting, the five were released.

On probation, of course.

The moment Cobra was let out of his containment lacrima, he tensed, eyes widening in shock and, dare Lahar say it, hope.

For his part, Cobra sensed something he hadn't in nearly a year now. A faint soul imprint brought into the prison, not directly, but as if someone who had visited knew the person it belonged to.

'Person' being the operative word, here.

"Cubellios…" he breathed out.

Lahar warily gripped his weapon as Cobra rounded on him.

"Where is Cubellios?!" he snarled, eyes wild. "WHERE IS SHE?!"

The purple-eyed man blinked in confusion. "Cu…bellios? Who is that?"

"MY SNAKE!" Cobra hissed, sounding very much like the aforementioned reptile. "WHERE. IS. SHE? Someone was here…someone that came in contact with her…"

Lahar's mouth dropped slightly open in shock as he put the information together.

The only non-prison guards or Rune Knights who had been close enough for the former inmate to sense anything from where they were was the Heartfilia heiress.

Now that he thought about it, hadn't the late Makarov Dreyar reported finding a girl that had been cursed into becoming a snake, whose curse had broken aside from the unfortunate side effect of amnesia?

Oh, dear…

Lahar sighed, removing Cobra's hand from where he had been grabbed and shoved against the wall.

"Apparently we have a lot to talk about." He said dryly.

* * *

And so Erik was awkwardly reunited with his amnesiac best friend, who only had the slightest bit of recognition that usually faded almost immediately, though Kinana was more than willing to try and rekindle her bond with the Poison Dragon Slayer.

Cobra, or Erik, as only Kinana and Wendy were allowed to call him, didn't care so much that she had amnesia. Until he'd sensed her soul when he was let out, he had thought that she was dead.

It was nice to be wrong, sometimes.

Anyway, Wendy had greeted him cheerfully after he had reunited with Kinana and was in a slightly more sociable mood.

He was bewildered, obviously.

The Seis had _kidnapped_ this kid so she could revive Jellal (who was also here, what the hell), and she smiles at him like she doesn't even care.

Eventually he realized that it was because the little slayer was lonely.

After all, there used to be three dragon slayers in Fairy Tail (or four, he supposed, remembering hearing rumors about how his fellow artificial dragon slayer had helped them on the island despite having been banished), but with Dragneel and the metalhead gone, she was alone.

And, well…if there was one thing Erik understood, it was loneliness.

So when she came to him asking if he had any tips she might be able to use to become stronger so she might be able to protect the people she cared about next time they were in danger, he could hardly say no, could he?

* * *

And, well, when he realized why the little white-haired girl who hung around the kid was so familiar, he found another reason to stay.

He wasn't going to say anything to little Yukino, because despite the kid's apparent guilt-complex Angel would kill him if he didn't warn her first, but...damn.

The kid held her big sister up on a pedestal, thinking that she was dead, and though Angel was like an annoying sister to him, Erik wasn't ignorant to her many, many flaws. She didn't live up to the person who Yukino thought she 'would have been' had she been alive.

That was painful to think about, even for Erik, who avoided emotion like it was a particularly horrific plague.

So...yeah.

First to tell Sorano that her sister was alive and well. Then she could decide what to do with that information.

Better keep the fact that the kid practically idolized Heartfilia out of it, though.

* * *

 **Please review! :)**


	8. How do we measure up?

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, really.**

 **So! I have plenty of notes for you guys.**

 **READERS:**

 **Do I HAVE to make this LaLu? Honestly, I'll ship Lucy with anyone (reasonable) if it makes sense in the story. I am in NO WAY loyal to Laxus and Lucy (oh, I'm sure some of you want to slap me for that), I just figured with the first version of this that with their respective ages since Lucy continued aging he made the most sense. And I had noticed that there weren't many LaLu stories, so I thought I might as well contribute.**

 **If you guys are going to make me, be warned, this story won't be nearly as focused on Lucy as the other two versions. Obviously she'll still be a main character, but Wendy is where I want to focus more. So even if it stays LaLu, the pairing won't be particularly important. Not that there was all that much of a focus on them in the other story…what can I say, romance isn't really my area.**

 **Oh, and I'm heavily reconsidering Gruvia. That's not really a ship of mine, either. I like both of their characters, I just don't particularly think they'd make a good couple. I'm open to other options for them, if anyone has any suggestions. Heterosexual, homosexual, whatever. Maybe Cana x Juvia? Gratsu? No Gray x Lyon, though.**

 **Molly (Guest):**

 **Well that was rude. Also, judgmental.**

 **You do realize absolutely no one is forcing you to read this? If you don't like the fact that I'm re-writing it, you can…guess what…not read it.**

 **Like I've said multiple times before, I fully plan on CONTINUING with the second version of the story. You'll still have more content to read, I'm not abandoning it, I'm just not focused on it at the moment. Yes, this is me re-writing Aurora again, not because I'm not satisfied with the second version, but because I wondered how the stor** **y would change if Wendy was also sent to safety and wanted to explore that.**

 **It WILL be different. Crap-load of new characters, different pairings (very few couples are entirely safe from my shipping ways), more villains…sorry you've managed to decide I won't be making any changes despite this version being seven chapters long so far whereas I've only re-written three chapters, meaning there's already MORE CONTENT.**

 **As for moving on to tell another story, why do you think there are sometimes really long gaps between my updates for the Aurora story? BECAUSE I MOVED ON, at least for the time being. I do have other stories up here. And ones that I don't post that also distract me. Just because I don't end a story doesn't mean I don't have others.**

 **Oh well. I'm still writing this regardless of your review, so do whatever. Keep reading, only read version 2, stop reading altogether because you're pissed off at me…your choice.**

 **Enjoy, everyone!**

* * *

Wendy's fists clenched as she saw Lucy, pale and unconscious in the uncomfortable looking hospital bed.

She lifted her hand automatically, gathering her magic so that she could heal her, when Jellal gently took her wrist.

"There's nothing to heal." He explained quietly, not wanting to rouse the blonde from her much needed sleep. "She's not hurt."

"Then why…?" Wendy's teeth clenched.

"Magical exhaustion." Jellal explained. "Something about a lost spell…"

"Urano Metria." Wendy realized. "Why would that put her into magical exhaustion, though? She's used it before! With Gemini's help, it shouldn't have been a problem…"

"She cast it alone." Jellal shook his head. "Twice."

Wendy's eyes widened, remembering how much magic power Hibiki had mentioned the spell took back when the Alliance had regathered before her former guild was discovered to be nothing but the magic of a memory.

*sigh*

"Twice." Wendy repeated dully. "By herself."

Jellal nodded. "She's been working to get stronger."

"So have I.' Wendy muttered. "But I haven't put myself in the hospital!"

She had also never dealt with true magical exhaustion, considering all she had to do to draw in more magic was breathe a little differently than usual. She definitely had it easier than Natsu and the others when it came to their elements.

"You drank poison." Jellal pointed out dryly. "Willingly. I think it's comparable."

Wendy winced, before protesting weakly. "I hadn't had much chance to work with poison! Porlyusica thought it was a good idea!"

Jellal raised a single eyebrow, skeptical.

From what he knew, Porlyusica had indeed agreed that learning how to deal with poison was practical. However, he doubted that the woman meant for the blunette to test it out on _herself_ , no matter how much humans annoyed her.

Luckily, the Sky Dragon Slayer knew exactly what he was thinking, because now she had a sheepish and resigned expression on her face, as well as a slightly guilty look in her eyes, presumably for being slightly hypocritical of Lucy's…uh, work ethic.

"Okay, so I don't have any room to talk." She admitted aloud, sitting down gently on the bed beside Lucy, placing a hand on her friend's arm to see if she could sense any injuries that needed healing, despite Jellal's reassurance that she wasn't hurt. "We'll have to keep an eye on her, though."

Jellal gave her a fond smile, appreciating the 'we' part of her statement.

It still baffled him that the two girls had accepted him as their surrogate brother (a sentiment he quickly grew to return once his guilt complex had abated slightly when it came to them), but he wouldn't give it up for the world.

It…was nice to have a family again, since he had destroyed…of his own volition or otherwise…his old one.

"I'll offer to train her in some other type of magic." He said after a long moment. "Thought Projection, maybe Heavenly Body, since her magic is related to the stars already. Maybe it'll distract her for a while."

Wendy nodded in agreement, thinking to herself that learning an entirely new type of magic and taking a break from her Sky Dragon Slayer magic might be a good idea. She didn't want to admit it, but she was starting to wear herself out, so a chance of pace sounded nice.

* * *

Macao's eyebrows furrowed in curiosity as he read the day's newspaper.

"Grand Magic Games?" he murmured quietly.

"Eh?" Wakaba asked, turning to him.

"The kingdom is throwing some kind of tournament-style event for the legal guilds." Macao explained, showing his friend the title of the article. "The prize is 30,000,000 Jewels. On the one hand, that would go a long way to make sure we stay out of debt. On the other…well, our strength isn't quite what it used to be."

Wakaba hummed thoughtfully. "Eh, I wouldn't quite say that. Now we have Jellal, Ultear, and Meredy, and both Wendy and Lucy are getting stronger every day. Won't be long until they surpass us."

Macao grimaced in reluctant acknowledgment.

If the Sky Dragon Slayer who had only just reached her teenage years was, as his friend said, seemingly soon to surpass them in strength, then what the hell was he still doing as guild master?

Wakaba, sensing the direction his friend's thoughts were taking, took it upon himself to flick the other man's head, earning himself a scowl, which he acknowledged with an innocent grin.

"You're right." Macao said after another few minutes, back straightening as new confidence filled him. "Fairy Tail is the strongest guild in Fiore; our reputation wasn't only being upheld by Natsu and the others! And this will prove it!"

* * *

Lucy gaped at Wendy, who was laying across from her on the other side of the train compartment.

Wendy…was motion sick?

"B-but—" the blonde stuttered, surprised. "You've never had issues with transportation before! I thought it was just Natsu!"

The dark haired blunette gave out a high-pitched keening sound of discomfort, hand going up to cover her mouth as she tried to force down her nausea.

She hadn't had much hope when she tried getting her Troia spell to work for her, but it was disappointing nonetheless.

"I'll go ask a staff member if there's any ginger ale on board." Jellal said with a frown, concerned.

"Maybe it's a puberty thing?" Ultear mused, causing both Meredy and Wendy to shift uncomfortably (or more uncomfortably).

Lucy, for her part, was just glad that the Arc of Time mage had waited until Jellal had left before saying that. The poor man would've been red for the rest of the ride, she was sure.

"I don't think so." Wendy groaned out. "Natsu told me he's had motion sickness since he was a little kid, much younger than I am now."

"Hm." Lucy tapped her lips thoughtfully, theories running through her mind. "When did you start getting motion sick?"

Wendy sighed, trying to think past the horrible feeling.

"I don't know." She admitted after a long moment. "Sometimes I would get a little dizzy, but I thought it was just because of flashbacks from Erza's driving. This is the first time I've been on transportation in a while…probably since before…well, before Tenrou."

It went quiet for a moment as memories flashed before their eyes.

"Maybe it's a strength thing?" Meredy wondered. "Natsu was always wanting to get stronger so he could beat the S-Class mages, right? Wendy's been training really hard…"

"Possibly." Lucy admitted. "I'm not sure, though…I don't think Gajeel has motion sickness, and he's older than Natsu. Probably."

Not that anyone knew quite how old they were. Or Wendy, for that matter. She just declared herself 13 on the anniversary of the day Grandineey had found her, but who was to say she had been born that day?

Ultear's lips twitched in amusement. "If your theory is right, that would mean Wendy is stronger than that blockhead."

Wendy snorted at the thought. As if.

When Jellal came back, unfortunately without any ginger ale (and irrationally apologetic about it), it was to find all but Wendy holding back snickers as the Sky Dragon Slayer rolled her eyes at them.

Women were so confusing…it was times like these he really appreciated Erza's straightforward attitude and blunt honesty.

He tried to ignore his heart clenching at the thought of the scarlet-haired Requip mage.

* * *

Wendy's breath caught as the Domus Flau coliseum came into view.

"Wow." Lucy and Meredy breathed out from either side of her, just as entranced.

Even Jellal and Ultear, who had seem some pretty impressive places during their time as members of the Magic Council, were at least a little bit awed.

They blinked in confusion as a strange little…man? Creature? Well, as a little figure in a pumpkin-themed outfit conducted the opening ceremonies.

* * *

Kagura seethed as she caught sight of _that_ woman standing over with Fairy Tail.

Ultear Milkovich…the woman who had, if indirectly, caused her brother Simon's death.

She understood that Jellal Fernandes, who she had previously held responsible, was innocent. He had willingly testified under truth serum, and her friend Millianna's stories of him from when they were kids helped her accept the situation.

The woman who had been the one to possess Fernandes, however…that was another story.

Now, Kagura was a sensible young girl, or so she thought. So she was more than aware of the fact that while she might be considered a prodigy by some, she wasn't strong enough to face a woman who was powerful enough to have been a councilmember, much less one with an entire guild backing her, including another former councilmember who had previously been one of the ten Wizard Saints.

However, someday…someday her blade Archenemy would finally taste the blood it craved.

She merely had to be patient.

Her time would come.

* * *

Hisui, crown princess of Fiore, brought a hand up to cover her gasp of surprise as Fairy Tail's Lucy Heartfilia was called up to participate in one of the events.

She had known that Fairy Tail had a strong Celestial Spirit mage amongst them, considering the fact that her father always brought up the 'news' reported by Sorcerer Weekly magazine, especially concerning Celestial Spirit mages like Hisui herself, but the sight of so many keys on her keyring was a shock, to say the least.

That, combined with the fact that she was the daughter of one of Hisui's friends and 'caretakers', Jude Heartfilia…

Well, let's just say she paid more attention than normal whenever the blonde mage 'came up to bat', so to speak.

* * *

Chelia Blendy watched in complete and utter awe as she watched a young mage only a few years older than her hold her own against a much older opponent, eating the very air around her to recharge her magic.

She thought back to the book on Sky God Slaying magic that her older cousin's guild master had offered to her as a bribe to join Lamia Scale.

On the one hand, Chelia had no idea what Obaa-sama saw in her, to offer to let her learn a Lost magic, and she had noticed Sherry's huffiness when the old woman brought it up, not wanting Chelia's childhood to end prematurely like most children who grew up in magic guilds.

On the other hand, Chelia spent all of her time in the Lamia Scale guild hall anyway, so she doubted her officially joining would make any difference.

That, and watching the Fairy Tail mage, Wendy Marvell, soar gracefully through the air, dodging attacks effortlessly, not having to worry about running out of magic…

Would it be too terrible of her to want to be strong like her? To want to dance through the skies?

'Sherry will probably lecture me a lot.' Chelia thought with a sigh, deciding to join Lamia Scale once the games had ended with a winner decided.

In the meantime, she would cheer for both Lamia Scale and Fairy Tail.

After all, the old lady couldn't shout about her betraying a guild that she hadn't even joined yet.

* * *

 **Please review! :)**

 **I won't go into much detail on this year's Games. Raven Tail is still a dark guild, Sabertooth isn't up to par yet, the Eclipse Project is years away from being a problem...not nearly as convoluted as it will be later.**


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